


Architectural Engineering

by brinnanza



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 06:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5152955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brinnanza/pseuds/brinnanza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Okay Uncle Mer, you can come in now!” Madison calls from under the blankets draped all around the living room.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Architectural Engineering

**Author's Note:**

> For number five [here](http://brinnanza.tumblr.com/post/130839577231/nonsexual-acts-of-intimacy-select-from-the), cuddling in a blanket fort. I make no apologies for any cavities that may result from such sugary ridiculous fluff.

“Okay Uncle Mer, you can come in now!” Madison calls from under the blankets draped all around the living room.

“I still can’t believe you didn’t let me help,” McKay grumbles. He gets on his knees, lifts one corner of the blanket hanging off of the back of the couch and shuffles into the fort. “Do either of you have a PhD in engineering? No, no you don’t.”

“I _told_ you,” Madison says. “Uncle John said if we let you help, you wouldn’t let us do anything.” She’s lying on her stomach in the middle of the fort, which takes up most of the available space, so McKay scoots over next to Sheppard, who’s sitting up against the back of the couch. 

“That’s ridiculous,” McKay mutters, even though she’s probably right. The construction is the fun part though -- now they’re just sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room. There are twinkle lights pinned against the blanket on the other side and Madison’s rolling a little round LED light in her hands, so the space is lit somewhat, but it’s still pretty dark.

He shifts around to find a somewhat comfortable position. The couch isn’t quite tall enough, so the blanket serving as the ceiling brushes the top of his head a little. Sheppard, of course, has no such problem since his spine is made of jello. Even despite the extra height of his hair, he’s slouching low enough that the blanket doesn’t touch him.

“So what do you think, McKay?” Sheppard asks with a broad grin and a sweeping gesture. 

McKay casts a critical eye around the tiny space. “Could be taller. If you stack some pillows up on the back of the couch--”

Sheppard elbows him in the side. “Hey, we worked we really hard on this!”

“Yeah!” puts in Madison. She pushes up into a sitting position so she can cross her arms and frown at him. The glare needs work, but she’s only six, so she’ll have plenty of time to perfect it before she’s staring down resource-hungry undergrads.

“Fine. It… seems stable,” McKay says grudgingly.

“‘Seems stable’,” Sheppard repeats to Madison confidently. “That’s practically ‘A brilliant feat of architectural engineering’ in Rodney-speak.” Madison giggles and McKay scowls and Sheppard beams at him. Sheppard’s looking entirely too self-satisfied, so McKay pokes him in the ribs. 

Sheppard pokes back and McKay smacks his hand away, and Madison says, “Hey! Mom says no hitting!” She frowns again, giving McKay a perfect replica of Jeannie’s disappointed mom face.

“Yeah Rodney, no hitting,” Sheppard echos, grin still firmly in place. Then he dodges McKay’s hand and pokes him again, his fingers wiggling a little and edging dangerously close to tickling.

“Hey!” McKay protests, leaning away from Sheppard’s fingers. 

“There’s no rule against poking,” Sheppard says. “Madison?”

She appears to consider it for a moment. “Nope, poking’s okay.” She gets a mischievous look in her eyes and rolls forward onto her knees to crawl toward him. “And tickling is _definitely_ okay.” Then she launches herself at him and digs her fingers into his sides.

“Gah!” McKay yelps articulately. He tries to move backwards but the couch is in the way. “Sheppard, help!”

“Sure,” says Sheppard, and shoves his fingers into McKay’s collar to tickle the back of his neck.

“I meant help _me_!” He tries to get an arm around Madison’s middle to pull her away, but she’s got an arm locked around his bicep, and she’s stronger than the daughter of vegetarians has any right to be. She’s laughing, loud shrieking giggles, and Sheppard’s laughing too, that obnoxious donkey guffaw that McKay, god help him, actually finds sort of endearing. He can’t help laughing too, actual happy laughter, not just a response to tickling.

He tickles Madison back, and then she decides to switch victims and they both gang up on Sheppard. Sheppard flops down onto his back, almost taking the far wall of the fort with him, but McKay catches it in time and tucks it back under the pile of books weighing it down. Sheppard takes advantage of McKay’s distraction to tickle the back of his knee, and the whole thing nearly comes crashing down.

“No fair!” McKay protests and leans down to retaliate. Sheppard keeps up the assault on his knee so he doesn’t notice when Madison switches targets again, and he loses his balance, pitching forward to land hard in the space beside Sheppard. Madison crawls onto his back like a turtle so she can go back to tickling Sheppard again.

McKay hears the front door open and close a second later, and then Jeannie calls, “We’re home!”

“We’re in here!” Madison calls back, and a moment later, Jeannie’s face appears between two blankets, and McKay suddenly realizes how this must look, Sheppard sprawled out on the floor and McKay half on top of him.

“Well isn’t this adorable,” she says sweetly. “I should get the camera.”

“Don’t you dare,” threatens McKay, his face flushing hot.

Jeannie gives him a look that says if he keeps it up, she really will get a camera, but she says, “We brought home dinner, if you’re hungry. Maddie, come get washed up.”

“Okay,” chirps Madison, and she slides off of McKay’s back and crawls out.

McKay starts to get up too, but Sheppard’s hand on his arm stills him. “We’ll be out in just a sec,” Sheppard tells her.

Jeannie gives him a look this time, something McKay can’t quite parse, then says, “Alright. We’re just in the other room.” Then she narrows her eyes a little, a look McKay recognizes readily as ‘Don’t do anything stupid’, even though it’s not like there’s anything to get up to in a blanket fort built by his six-year-old niece in his sister’s living room.

Sheppard gives her an easy smile, and she backs up out of the fort.

“What?” McKay asks when she’s gone. He starts to pull away again, but Sheppard stops him.

“Just--” Sheppard starts, his face suddenly pink. He pushes McKay over so he’s lying on his back, his head pillowed on Sheppard’s shoulder, Sheppard’s arm around his shoulders.

“Really?” McKay says skeptically because _of course_ it’s now, in his sister’s house, with its paper thin walls and the guest room right next to Madison’s bedroom, and not back on Atlantis, where they might actually have some privacy.

Sheppard shrugs, jostling McKay’s head a little. McKay huffs out a breath, then curls into Sheppard’s embrace. “Just for a minute. My back.”

“I know,” says Sheppard quietly. He turns his head to press his mouth against the top of McKay’s head.

“You have terrible timing,” McKay tells him.

“I know,” says Sheppard, and McKay can feel the smile curling Sheppard’s lips.


End file.
